A Different Choice
by SamManta586
Summary: What if Hiccup left Berk like he intended to do in the first movie? What if he and Toothless find Valka and the sanctuary soon after they leave? Will they stay and forget Berk even exists? Or will they go and finally destroy the queen and free the dragons? Please R&R! This is my second story, so please give me as much criticism as you want (No flames though)! Rated T for violence!
1. Run & Fly

**Hello everyone! Guess who's back?** _ **Back again? SamManta586's back! Tell a friend!**_ **(Shout out to Little Kuriboh! We're with ya my friend!) Ok, so this story is something I actually have search for, but never found online. Or at least one that is written in a way that I enjoy. So the way this will work I think is that'll put up a few chapters, focus on my exams that are coming up next week, then I will return! Unfortunately I don't think Valka will be showing up until chapter 4 or 5 so we'll have to wait on that. What I'd like to do is ask you guys in the review section what you want me to do.**

 **Hicstrid: Yes or no?**

 **All for now! Enjoy Chapter 1!**

* * *

"...leaving. We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever."

Hiccup sighs as he puts down the heavy basket filled with food, tools, and a bunch of other stuff a person needs for survival. His thoughts turn to his main problem: the Monstrous Nightmare. The dragon is going to be killed by the "winner" of dragon training. _And guess who gets the honor of killing the dragon? Me._ Hiccup thought bitterly.

Before, he thought that dragons were what everyone else in the village believed them to be, killing machines capable of only rage and a thirst for Viking blood. But then Hiccup met Toothless, a Night Fury, one of the most feared dragons of known to man. As far as Hiccup knew, the he was the first to ever see one, much less _ride_ one! He had crippled Toothless after his bola launcher had ripped his tailfin off, but thanks to Hiccup's skill and training in the forge, he had managed to build Toothless an artificial tailfin, but the Night Fury still couldn't fly on his own, he needed a rider. And that's where the saddle and leather harness he was currently wearing came in. He and Toothless had a bond like no other, and through that bond Hiccup discovered that everything the Vikings of Berk knew about dragons was wrong. They could feel emotions other than anger and hatred. At that thought Hiccup felt an overwhelming sadness knot his stomach. He learned what emotion had fueled the dragons to attack Berk unprovoked; fear. The dragons were enslaved by some sort of 'queen dragon', and if they didn't feed her, they would be eaten themselves.

The teen was torn out of his thoughts to a _shink_ sound from behind him. He turned his head and nearly forgot to breathe. Behind him, sitting on a boulder sharpening her axe was one of the last people he wanted to see; Astrid Hofferson.

"Aggh! What the-" Hiccup shouted.

"What are you doing here?" Astrid demanded, her expression cold and her pale blue eyes sparkling with anger. She slid off the boulder and stalked around the village runt like a cat hunting prey. "I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with someone?"

"Uh..." Hiccup's eyes were darting around the cove, looking for the familiar sight of black scales or piercing green eyes.

"And what's with this?" Astrid asked, her hand grabbing the collar of Hiccup's harness.

The sound of a twig snapping somewhere within the tree-cave in the cove instantly captured Astrid's attention as she released Hiccup and held her axe handle with both hands, keeping the weapon at ready. Hiccup panicked and ran in front of her, blocking her advance.

"Ah... You got me! You were right, I've been making...outfits!" He lied, his eyes betraying the fear he felt shaking his bones.

Astrid unfortunately, caught up in her anger for not being picked back at dragon training, took him blocking her as an attack and used the flat side of her axe to slam Hiccup into the ground. The surprised teen cried out in pain when his head slammed on a loose rock. He opened his eyes, _when did I close them?,_ when a furious roar meet his ears.

Hiccup heard Astrid's cry of "Dragon!" and Toothless's charge at the shieldmaiden. He forced himself to sit up and turned around, fighting the slight nausea that came with the movement, and was just in time to see Astrid take a swipe at Toothless with her axe which the dragon promptly dodged.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried, catching the attention of the raging Night Fury, who gave a glare to the now confused Astrid before he bolted to his friend's side. The dragon put a wing in front of Hiccup, blocking the boy from the girl's view.

"Thanks bud," Hiccup whispered as he picked himself up from the ground and onto Toothless's back before connecting his harness to the saddle.

"Let's go." Toothless opened his jet black wings and rose a few feet in the air before gliding quickly past the shocked Astrid and grabbing Hiccup's basket in his claws, before the two flew up in the air, a solid black dot in the pale blue sky.

Hiccup gave a sigh and laughed in relief. "Oh Toothless," the boy said. leaning down and wrapping his arms around the dragon's neck in a hug. "I thought that was it then." He smiled and let his arms go limp. "Thank you Toothless. You are amazing." The dragon cooed from under him in response.

A throb from his head wiped the smile from Hiccup's face. He winced as the throbbing slowing got worse, making his dragon look up at him in alarm. "I'm fine bud." Hiccup said as he lifted one of his hands and patted the dragon's head, but Toothless gave him a look that said " _yeah, sure"_. Hiccup groaned in response and replied, "Ok, ok… But I can handle it for a while bud, I just want to go…" Hiccup stopped and turned back towards Berk a crazy idea popping into his head that pushed back the pain. The island was still close and he could see the stone walls of the kill ring from where they were. Toothless followed his gaze, his eyes narrowed in confusion when he saw his rider's attention on the village they were supposed to be fleeing from.

Hiccup gave a mischievous smile. "Hey bud? Let's give a few friends a hand…"


	2. Saved & Goodbyes

**What is this?! Two updates back-to-back?! What do you do with your life?!**

 **I'm a single mom (to baby animals). It's actually pretty stressful, but writing has helped a lot with this new development, and I also want to take writing more seriously if I want to do it for a living. Anyway, before reading this chapter, everyone give a big virtual hug to Hiccup. This poor kid... Well, on with the story!**

Chapter 2

* * *

In hindsight, Hiccup should have guessed flying a black dragon in broad daylight would attract attention. Or the sound of plasma blasts. He and Toothless were currently shooting plasma blasts at the doors, trying to get in before the angry and armed villagers got to them first.

With a third shot at the locking mechanism, the gate flew open, and the Night Fury flew in. Hiccup directed his dragon to face the first of the cells, which held the Deadly Nadder. They blasted it open, and waited. A few moments later, the dragon flew out, her wings open wide and her spikes up in hostility. As soon as the spiked dragon saw the pair in front of her, she slowly lowered her wings in confusion. Hiccup looked back over his shoulder towards the shouting villagers as it got closer.

"We don't have much time, help us free the others, then we can leave! Escape! You just have to help us!" Hiccup said to the confused dragon. She cocked her head and looked at the boy and dragon in front of her. Toothless let out a small cry; she blinked at him and then looked to Hiccup and gave anod of her head.

"Great! Come on, we don't have much time." Hiccup breathed.

The three released the other dragons one by one. After the Nadder they released the Gronkle, then the Zippleback, the Terrible Terror, and finally the Monstrous Nightmare. All of them seemed confused that a _human_ of all things were helping them, _At least they're not trying to kill me_ , Hiccup thought.

The sound of the villagers coming down the path sent bits of fear through Hiccup. He had just run away, he didn't want to go back and be killed for treason on top of it!

"RUN!" Hiccup yelled. The dragons who had been snarling at the entrance looked at him in surprise before all seven dragons flew out of the arena. The Deadly Nadder and the Gronkle went first, the Terrible Terror who grabbed onto the Nadder's front horn as they went. Toothless and Hiccup went next to the Monstrous Nightmare, effectively hiding Hiccup and Toothless from the view of the villagers as they went by, and the Zippleback followed behind them, turning one of his head as he went towards the fuming villagers and sent a gloating look at them before roaring in triumph, which the other dragons echoed.

Hiccup however turned back for another reason, for the voice he heard shouting curses at them as they retreated. His father was standing at the group's head, his red hair seemed to be lit a flame with rage. The man who had only ever looked at him with disappointment and scorn, but also the man who saved his life time and time again from the fire of angry dragons during raids.

"Goodbye Berk, at least I'll miss something."

And Hiccup never looked back.


	3. Protected & Discovered

**A very long chapter for you guys today. I'm not entirely happy with it, since I wrote it late last night. I do like it enough to publish it though, so I hope you enjoy. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me some criticism! I really want to improve the quality of my work, so please leave me some advice on what I'm doing right or wrong. Thank you all for reading!**

 _Chapter 3_

* * *

He really should have stopped hours ago.

The pain from his head had intensified to the point where he couldn't even watch the clouds as they flew by without nausea. He was pretty sure he had a concussion, if the symptoms he was experiencing were anything to go by. Exhaustion was also taking its toll after the seven-hour flight they'd been doing. Dark bags had appeared under his eyes and he had caught himself more than once trying to fall asleep on Toothless's neck. The only reason they were still flying was because of the other dragons.

After they had flown away from Berk the other dragons had started flying east, away from the dragon's nest, calling after Hiccup and Toothless as if telling them to follow. They did, because really they had no idea where to go now, and if these dragons knew of a place they would go for it.

He hadn't stopped to land because he feared they would leave him and Toothless behind. But really who could blame them if they did? They'd been locked up and used as punching bags for angry vikings for who knows how long. This was probably their first free flight in months. That's why he didn't stop even when the storm clouds appeared.

He did notice that all the dragons seemed to falter, but the Deadly Nadder directed them on. She had seemingly taken over as the leader, which went wisely unopposed. If she wasn't so kind he would have compared her to Astrid. After all, flying through a storm? Sounds like something Astrid would do.

 _Wait…_ Hiccup thought. An idea had popped into his head.

He guided Toothless to fly next to the spiked dragon, who turned a curious gaze to them.

"Hey," Hiccup greeted, Toothless calling a greeting as well, and the Nadder replied with a cry of her own, "I was just wondering, do you guys have names?"

The question seemed to catch the Nadder off guard, as she fumbled a bit in flight. Hiccup had to bite his tongue to keep from laugh at the off-balanced bird-like dragon. The dragon righted herself before turning to Hiccup and shaking her head slightly, causing Hiccup to smile a little.

"Can I give you a name then?" The dragon seemed to ponder this for a few moments, before giving a soft crow in return.

"Stormfly." Hiccup said. The newly named dragon had a thoughtful look on her face before giving a hoot of laughter and diving down into the oncoming rain in a spiral. This time Hiccup couldn't help the laughter that came, and it seemed neither could Toothless, the Zippleback, or the Terrible Terror. All four of them collapsed into laughter, nearly falling out of the now grey and clouded sky. The Gronkle and the Monstrous Nightmare simply wore large grins on their faces as they flew onward. The pack of laughing dragons flew into the sheet of rain, a spark of light in the hampering storm.

* * *

The cheery mood had continued when Hiccup named the other dragons. The Terrible Terror was named Sharpshot, because of how fast he bolted to Stormfly when the thunder boomed around them (yet another bout of laughter!). The Zippleback was named Barf & Belch, one for each head, the Gronkle he named Meatlug, and the Monstrous Nightmare was named Hookfang. All the dragons seemed to become ecstatic when their names were given, doing multiple twists and turns in the air as they flew. The excitement had again helped Hiccup keep the pain from his head at bay, but unfortunately for him the relief didn't last long.

The storm had grown harsh as rain pelted down, blurring their vision and soaking them to the bone. The dragons didn't mind as much as their scales helped keep the cold out, but poor Hiccup only had the clothes on his back, which were now heavy with water. He was certain he had gotten sick, if the thick coughs he were having were any indication. Hiccup felt his body becoming heavier, making it increasingly harder to hold himself up, and pretty soon it was all he could do not to collapse into the saddle.

"Toothless!" Hiccup hacked over the roar of the wind. Said dragon called back, casting his piercing green gaze over his shoulder to see his rider struggling. Toothless roared at the others drawing their attention to the weakening rider. Stormfly pulled back to the Night Fury and glided over to the boy's side, crooning at him but getting only a tired and pain-filled look in return. Hookfang flew up above the Nightfury, serving as an umbrella. No one noticed when Sharpshot bolted ahead until his small cries were heard from in front of them. The dragons flew forward faster and noticed an overgrown sea stack with some trees and short grass.

The group flew over and landed, all of them together nearly taking up the entire space. Hiccup fumbled with his harness, his fingers numb from the cold making the job difficult. He finally managed and slipped off of the saddle, feeling the pounding of his skull and the sharpness of the cold. For a moment he was just standing there in the pouring rain, curling in on himself for warmth, but the next the rain had somehow stopped and his world darkened significantly. Hiccup looked up and saw one of the most amazing things in the world.

All around him the dragons stood, their wings held out as a shield to the rain. He looked into each of their eyes and saw a warmth that no one on Berk would ever believe a dragon could possess.

"You're protecting me." Hiccup said as he whispered a rough sounding 'thank you', before turning to his dragon, who was standing behind him. Toothless cocked his head at the his friend, a small toothless smile had settled on the Night Fury's face. He let out a croon before closing the space between them and gently nudging the teen's side.

"T-Toothless…" Hiccup rasped. The dragon huffed and nudged him in the side again, though this time a little stronger. Hiccup stumbled back a step, right into Toothless's outstretched wing. The Night Fury wrapped his wing around the the boy's scrawny frame and pulled him to his side. Hiccup gave the dragon a confused look as Toothless lied down and opened his wing. The dragon rolled his eyes in an exasperated way before he pulled Hiccup down next to him with one of his massive paws.

Hiccup watched as the dragon shifted so that he was curled around him like a giant cat. Hiccup suddenly only saw pitch black and realized that it was Toothless's wing, which was warming his shivering body like a well woven blanket. A rumbling purr vibrated from the dragon's throat, and two large paws gathered him up and pulled him into a scaled chest. Hiccup shifted so that his pounding head was resting on one of Toothless's arms, and he let out a content sigh as his eyes slid shut. His previous exhaustion caught up with him and he knew no more.

* * *

The woman scanned the orange-colored forest around her, watching for signs of movement and listening for sounds over her dragon's wing beat. The woman glanced down at her Stormcutter, giving him a friendly pat on one of his horns, earning her a replying warble and a toothy smile. She smiled back, but it couldn't be seen through her painted blue mask.

Her dragon called out to again, this time in the form of a alarming roar. The masked woman looked around and saw an odd shape in the distance ahead of them that seemed to unnatural to be a rock formation. Flying closer proved the shape not to be a rock, but instead it was a huddled group of dragons. A Zippleback, Gronkle, Deadly Nadder, and a Monstrous Nightmare. They were huddled in a protective stance; she expected that it was due to the recent storm.

 _Maybe they're protecting their young? Could one of them be injured?_ She worried, flying in low to the sea stack before jumping off the orange dragon's back. The dragons growled at her presence, but she advanced a few steps, her hand stretched out in a non-threatening gesture. The Deadly Nadder folded her wings and stepped out of the circle, and the woman caught a glimpse of a black object before the remaining dragons tightened the circle, blocking her view of whatever it was they were guarding.

The dragon, a female the woman realized, stepped towards her outstretched hand cautiously. When she was close enough, the dragon sniffed her hand, before gently pressing her snout into her palm. The woman petted the Nadder's face, much to dragon's delight, before walking around to the circle of the other dragons, who with a commanding screech from the Nadder allowed her inside.

What she saw made her freeze.

There, lying in the middle of the ring was a _Night Fury_. The woman had never seen one before, only heard the stories, but the night black hide was a dead give away. The Night Fury was curled up like a cat, but his eyes were mere slits as he watched her enter their protection. The masked woman walked towards him in a crouch, her hand open. The dragon growled at her until she stopped a few inches from his face. The dragon stared at her for a few moments, studying her before touching his nose with her hand.

The woman delightfully scratched his head and ears, making the Night Fury go wide eyed and purr like a kitten. She looked him over a realized with a pang that the Night Fury had only one tailfin, but became very confused when she noticed the artificial one next to it. A traced a metal rod that went up his tail with her eye and noticed the dark leather saddle. A _saddle_.

Could that mean that he had a rider? Like her? Someone who knew that dragons were not monsters? And why were the dragons protecting him? Other than the tailfin he didn't look injured. She finally noticed that the dragon had his wings folded in an odd position...as if the dragon was holding something…

She very cautiously lifted the wing, and to her relief the Night Fury let her if only reluctantly. To her utter shock, she discovered a small teenage boy lying in the tight embrace of the Night Fury. He was asleep on his side facing away from her with his head buried in the dragon's chest. She placed her hand on one of his arms, but away in surprise from the utter heat radiating from the child.

An old instinct that she thought to have long ago buried came alive once more, and she gently rolled the teen out of the dragon's embrace ignoring the resulting snarl. She lifted him up by his shoulders and brought him to her chest, feeling the unnatural warmth coming from the poor child. She gently took her free hand and pushed his head towards her. His face was pale and freckled, and his hair was sticking to the sweat on his forehead. Her eyes scanned his face, studying its details, when she saw something that made her blood run cold.

A tiny scar on the boy's chin.

Her son's scar.


	4. Laughed & Met

**Hello, I'm back again! I have no idea if this chapter is good or bad. I went back and edited it twice, but I still can't tell if I did everything right… Well guess you guys will have to tell me in the review section! Also, please read the following in a loud yelling voice.**

 **IF YOU YELL AT FANFICTION IN RESPONSE TO WHAT YOU HAVE JUST READ PLEASE LEAVE A FAVORITE! (It will mean I'm not alone in the world!)**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 _Chapter 4_

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Hiccup didn't know where he was.

When he fell asleep he was being held by Toothless, but the hands that held him now definitely weren't a dragon's. They were far too small, and there were no claws. Was a _human_ holding him? But he left he archipelago behind hours ago! He vividly remembered flying through the cloud barrier where they encountered the storm. A search party couldn't have come out this far, could it? No, that was impossible, Berk wouldn't go through that much trouble for a traitor, even if he was the Hooligan heir. If the breeze was anything to go by, then he was flying, but Toothless can't fly without him manning the tailfin. He felt the smooth texture of scaled beneath him so he knew he was definitely on a dragon, but if he wasn't on the Night Fury, then who was he riding on? And where were the other dragons? He tried to open his eyes, but the second he did he ended up looking right at the sun. He flinched at the blinding light and screwed his eyes shut. The movement caught the attention of the person holding him, who in response tightened their hold.

"Shhh…" a feminine sounding voice soothed. "You're going to be alright."

"Toothless" Hiccup questioned, laying his hand over his stomach.

"The Night Fury?" the unknown woman asked, "Don't worry, my dragon is carrying him, and your friends are flying a little ways behind us." As the woman said this Hiccup became aware of the loud wingbeats from below him.

 _Sounds like a big dragon… But, why does it sound like there are two of them in the same place?_ Hiccup wondered.

His curiosity got the best of him and he opened his eyes again. The light still hurt, but it was less than before. Looking up Hiccup was meet with a soft orange sky. He looked to his right and saw the head of a dragon he had never seen before. He couldn't see much more than just the many red horns that rose like a flower from the creature, but the size of the head told him that he had been right, and that the dragon was huge, like Monstrous Nightmare huge. Looking around he saw why he had heard two sets of wings. It was because this one dragon had _four_ wings. _Four wings_ for _one dragon_.

"Amazing…" Hiccup marveled, a smile appearing on his face as he watched the wings go up and down, slightly disturbing the cloud field they were flying over.

A soft chuckle caught Hiccup's attention, as he finally looked up to see the person who was holding him. Confirming his previous assumption, the person was a woman who looked around the same age as his father. She had light brown hair that was tied into three braids that stretched down her entire back, and she had a few light wrinkles on her face near her cheeks and eyes. She was smiling, revealing two neat rows of pure white teeth. Her expression was soft yet nearly exploding with happiness, it was hard to tell what she was truly feeling. Her eyes were the same shade as his own, and they practically shone with laughter and a kindness he had never seen from a human before.

"Hello there." The woman greeted, touching a hand to his cheek as he stared at her. He felt like he should know her from somewhere, but he couldn't put his finger on it...

"Wh-who are you?" Hiccup stuttered, "Where are we going?"

Her eyes sparkled with amusement, and she rubbed a thumb over the side of his face. His eyes darted to it for a moment before bringing them back to the woman's face.

"I'm taking you somewhere safe little one. What did you think you were doing flying through such a storm? You lucky you aren't sicker than you already are!" she scolded.

"Haha… Funny, I don't feel that bad anymore." Hiccup stated, and it was true. Sure, he felt tired and sluggish, and maybe a little too hot, but other than that he felt fine. The woman cock her head at him fondly and gave a him a thoughtful look.

"Well you're dragon is probably to thank for that. When I found you you were wrapped up in his wings like a swaddled babe!" she laughed, and Hiccup went a light shade of pink. Unfortunately that only served to make the woman laugh harder, and although Hiccup tried not to he couldn't help a smile.

 _Her laugh…_ he thought, _it's really familiar… Have I meet her before?_

"Do I know you from somewhere? What's your name?" Hiccup inquired curiously.

The woman froze. She looked down at Hiccup, who in turn felt something akin to fear at the new look in her eyes. Her face was now stiff, and fear was written all over it like a boar about to be slaughtered. She looked down at the boy in her arms. Her green eyes were wide as they both stared at each other. For a few moments there was nothing but the gentle hum of the wind and the steady sound of wing pumping through the air, until the woman let out a long and her body relaxed. She slouched and rested her hand over Hiccup's.

"You wouldn't remember me." the woman said, making Hiccup even more confused than before. The person before him had her eyes screwed shut with what seemed like...guilt? He felt the anticipation that hung over them like a fog, and nearly jumped when the woman opened her eyes and stared back into his own.

"But a mother never forgets."

* * *

 ***troll face* Suspense!**


	5. Accepted & Viewed

**Hey everyone! I just wanted everyone to know that I don't want to tell anything from anyone at Berk during the time when Hiccup isn't there. This is supposed to be centered around Hiccup and Valka's points of view alone (mainly Hiccup). Just trying to avoid confusion guys! Also, I'm hoping to make Hiccup and Valka's time at the Sanctuary stretch out into a bunch of mother-son fluff kind of stuff, so if you have any suggestions for those stories, then I will definitely take them into consideration! I want to make their relationship go as in depth as possible, but only through things that would logically happen to them.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 _Chapter 5_

* * *

For a while, they just sat there, staring at each other. Hiccup had gone as white as a ghost and his eyes were as wide as an owl's. Valka on the other hand only looked solemnly at her son, watching as he took in what she just said. Her fear had mostly gone with her secret, but she still had butterflies in her stomach at the thought of his reaction.

 _My...my mother?! She's my mother?! But my father said that she had been taken by dragons-oh, wait..._ Hiccup glanced down at the four-winged dragon again as he pieced everything together. _So, my mom was taken by dragons and formed a bond with one like I did with Toothless…_ he thought. _She's like me! Or I guess I'm more like her._.. His mother's hand squeezed his own and he turned his focus back on her; she was looking at him worriedly.

"Y-you're really my mother?" Hiccup asked.

His mother seemed taken back a bit, _She_ _probably thought I'd yell at her or something,_ Hiccup mused. "You're not mad that I didn't come back?" she questioned nervously.

Hiccup chuckled a minute before answering, "You learned what dragons really were like Mom, I doubt that going back to Berk would have been a good idea."

Valka's face broke out into a bright smile as she leaned down to hug her son. "I'm so relieved Hiccup... " she breathed. She was seemed about to say more, but just then her dragon called out to her which was echoed by the dangling Night Fury below. The pair of dragon riders turned the attention forward to what Hiccup believed should have just been more clouds. He would have fallen over if his mother hadn't already been holding him. Ahead of them stood a giant island covered almost entirely with ice. Spires of frozen water rose up to the sky. The sun shining through them made the ice look like crystal.

He crawled out of his mother's hold and moved up to the dragon's head to get a better look at the structure and one of his hands rested on one of the red spikes of his mother's dragon. An arm wrapped around his shoulders and he felt his mother sit by his side.

"This has been my home for the past sixteen years." Valka said, her admiration and happiness leaking into her voice. Hiccup said nothing, only turning to smile at her briefly before turning back to the magnificent island. He leaned into his mother's touch at the same time, feeling for the first time in forever like he was somewhere where he could belong.

* * *

" _Oh my goodness_!" Hiccup exclaimed as they flew into the main chamber of the sanctuary. That's what his mother called it, and from the way it appeared, the name fit. The ice walls were a dazzlingly blue with small stalactites reaching down and around and bending every which way. A huge one that connected in the very middle of the main cavern had been overgrown with lush green foliage. Everywhere else were pillar-like rock formations covered in the same vegetation that hung down like water. The rocks were formed around to make odd shaped pathways and small islands with actual water which formed numerous waterfalls that all fed into a giant lake. Where there weren't pathways or islands or waterfalls there were entrances to caverns and small caves. It was all beautiful and captivating, but the best part was the _dragons_.

Dragons were everywhere Hiccup looked! All of them were different colors and sizes, and there so many different species that he hadn't the faintest idea of what they could were all flying throughout the cavern, coming in and out of the caves and landing on the rocks using them as perches and drinking out of the pools. There were nests in some of the nooks and crannies that were either filled with beautifully colored eggs or chirping little hatchlings.

" _This is A-MAZE-ING_!" Hiccup screamed, causing Valka to snicker behind him. Hiccup glanced back at his mother, and the two shared a look of that Hiccup could only describe as pure happiness. Suddenly Cloudjumper started to descend. Hiccup peered ahead of them and saw that they were about to land on a small cliff that seemingly lead to one of the smaller caves.

The owl-like dragon briefly halted a few feet from the ground and soft _thump_ could be heard as Hiccup assumed Toothless hit the stone ground. Not a moment later Cloudjumper landed and Valka helped Hiccup slip off his back. The second Hiccup hit the ground a familiar cry echoed around them.

" _Toothless_!" Hiccup cried as a black blur tackled him to the ground. "Hey bud!" Hiccup greeted from under the Night Fury. The dragon warbled at him before he started licking his prisoner. "Aw-aww, Toothless! That better wash out!"

Valka laughed, a big booming sound that drifted pleasantly through the air. Hiccup managed to escape the Night Fury's tackle and was flicking drops of drool of his hands, but the smile on his face betrayed his happiness from being.

His mother came up behind him after he got rid of the rest of the drool. She placed a hand on his head and smiled fondly at him. He returned the smile as he petted his dragon's nose.

"May I…?" Valka asked, gesturing to Toothless.

"Sure." Hiccup said, giving Toothless a finally pat before stepping back to allow his mother by. She let him sniff her hand and stroked his muzzle.

"Oooh he's _beautiful_." she said as she petted his tongue. "He very well might be the last of his kind!" she stated as he curled around her like a snake on his back. "And look!" she exclaimed, pointing at his exposed chin. "He's your age! No wonder you get along so well!" Hiccup looked on in amazement. _This is my mother! I have a_ mother _!_


	6. Feared & Revealed

**Ok, so I'm back with more! First things first, I just wanted to say that Hiccup will be a bit more insecure than he is portrayed in cannon. I mean, he did just leave behind everything in the blink of an eye, without a real goodbye. And then you find someone like Valka! How would you feel?! Anyway, I also wanted to reply to some of the questions found in the reviews.**

 **YES! Drago will be a thing.**

 **YES! Hiccup will help Valka with fighting for the dragons.**

 **I cannot reveal anything that is happening on Berk until that time comes, but I can assure you there will be a time where we find out.**

 **Hiccstrid is still undecided, as I have to see who Hiccup becomes throughout this story plot-thing!**

 **Also, _Nightmare of the Dragon's Moon_ will not premiere until either this story has been completed or is heavily requested in my PM messages.**

 **That's all for now! Enjoy!**

 _Chapter 6_

* * *

Hiccup was flying with Toothless again at last! He smiled when his Night Fury gave a roar of delight as they soared around the main chamber with the other dragons. He could not put it into words how amazing it was to feel like you were racing the wind and _winning_!

The pair flew around the large ice pillar and twirled around in mid-air as much as dragonly possible. For every tight space that Toothless couldn't fit his wings through they barrel rolled straight through it. The rush of it all just made Hiccup want to scream in happiness. Maybe he's give his mother a scare and do his infamous trust exercise...

Hiccup looked back at his mother as she and her Stormcutter they followed behind. Hiccup smiled when he saw his mother's happy expression and when he saw Cloudjumper shoot him a toothy grin. Looking back between Toothless's ears he noticed something _very_ different about the lake than from when he had first arrived. Laying in the center of the water was a _gigantic_ white dragon.

Both he and Toothless reeled at the sight of the creature but somehow managed to land on a perch-like rock form. _That thing is as big as that queen dragon!_ Hiccup thought as he gaped at the sight. Toothless on the other hand had pressed himself into the ground, his fear evident through his trembling. Hiccup looked down at the Night Fury in confusion, that is until Toothless shot a look at him and he realized why he was freaking out, which in turn made Hiccup freak out a little as well.

Hiccup was so distracted that he fell out of Toothless's saddle when Cloudjumper landed beside them. Toothless jumped a few feet in the air, his eyes wide with surprise. He actually appeared pretty cute, and Hiccup would have laugh had the large dragon not gazed in the direction right at that moment. Hiccup didn't keep eye contact for very long, for the creature's eyes were mere slits like the queens, except while hers were the color of boiling hot magma, this dragons were a striking blue. He turned his head when he heard footsteps coming in his direction, and felt a hand lightly grasp his shoulder. His mother's confused and worried face stared down at him.

"What's wrong Hiccup?" she inquired. He didn't answer at first, instead he turned his attention to his dragon, who was staring at the white dragon looking ready to jump out of his own skin. Hiccup raised his arm and held out one of his hands, the movement catching the attention of the Night Fury. Two pairs of green eyes stared into each other, before the Night Fury turned and pressed his nose into the boy's palm.

Hiccup hugged his dragon's head and turned back to his mother. "Th-that dragon…" Hiccup stuttered, his fear leaking into his voice. Valka glanced at the giant creature before turning back to her son and his dragon.

 _Why are they both afraid? Hiccup I could understand I suppose... But Toothless as well?_ Valka thought in worried confusion. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. She gave Hiccup a smile and grabbed his elbow. She gave him a little push towards his Night Fury (first time someone did that and he didn't stumble!). Hiccup gave her a curious look before hopping on. Valka did the same with Cloudjumper, and before Hiccup or Toothless could protest, the large owl-like dragon swatted them with his tail, hurling them towards the gigantic dragon.

Both dragon and rider were screaming as they struggled to pull themselves out of the unintentional , Toothless managed to stop their descent with his wings. The two stopped in mid-air and stayed still a minute as they caught their breath.

The boy turned in his seat, looking back for his mother. " _Mom!_ " Hiccup yelled, a bit of annoyance weaved into his voice. But to his shock, his mother was nowhere to be found, and neither was her observant Stormcutter. "Mooom?" He called again, except this time his voice did not carry annoyance, instead it carried worry. He felt anxiety blossom inside of him as he scanned around the cavern frantically searching for Cloudjumper's striking orange eyes or his mother's welcoming smile.

He was so preoccupied that he almost didn't hear his dragon's cry of alarm. He looked over the Night Fury's head and nearly sent them both hurling out of the air. Right in front of them, nearly nose to nose was the giant white dragon. The monstrous creature was almost entirely white with the only other color being a dash of black on the tip of the dragon's spikes, it was almost like someone had dipped them into a bucket of black dye. He had two matching white horns that were longer than four Monstrous Nightmares combined! The most intimidating part however was the eyes. They were mere slits, and they were a chilling shade of blue that sent shivers up Hiccup's spine (and from what he could feel, Toothless's too!). Hiccup didn't even register whatever it was that those eyes held; all he could remember was the eyes of the queen. Nothing but hunger and rage.

A faint whimpering caught Hiccup's attention, and he vaguely registered the fact that it was Toothless. Hiccup, for all his fear, somehow managed to move his shaking hand from the saddle horn to his dragon's head as he tried to comfort the trembling Night Fury. The creature's eyes followed his movement. _He's observing,_ Hiccup realized, _like Cloudjumper..._

"Hiccup!"

Speaking of Cloudjumper, Hiccup turned and spotted him and her rider waving at them from a perch a little ways from the giant. He and Toothless shared a look before shooting down to where the pair were waiting. A commotion behind them indicated that the behemoth had turned after them, sending panic streaming through both dragon and rider. They made a hard landing barely a few feet from the others. Barely a heartbeat had passed before Hiccup had bolted to his mother and Toothless to Cloudjumper.

Valka was lucky she had her staff, because she hadn't dug it into the ground when Hiccup barreled into her arms they both would have fallen. She stared at the trembling teen and wrapped an arms around his shoulders. She turned her attention to her son's Night Fury and saw him in the same state as Hiccup, trembling underneath one of Cloudjumper's wings. Valka turned back to her son and gently ruffled his hair as a sign of comfort.

The mother looked up when a shadow drew over them, causing Hiccup and Toothless to press themselves further into their hiding spots. Valka turned and saw the confused Bewilderbeast standing over them, his face a few feet from the cliff edge.

"Umm, Mom?" Hiccup questioned as she sneaked around to hide behind her. "Wha-what is that?"

Valka smiled, her big green eyes twinkling with amusement at her child's antics. "And where do you think you're going?"

She sidestepped so that her body was facing the Bewilderbeast and laughed a when he poked his head out from beneath her arm.

"Well you don't seem scared out of your mind, so you know!" Hiccup said, and although it was obvious that he was still afraid, but a bit of laughter could be heard underneath it. _Mom's not scared, doesn't mean it's entirely safe, but I guess it's something..._

Cloudjumper warbled something to the king, causing Toothless to look up at him in utter bewilderment. The king groaned something back in response, making Toothless step out from under the older dragon's wing, a look of uncertainty on his face. Valka gave the dragon an encouraging smile as he crawled forward.

The king spoke again, this time at her. Even though she didn't understand their language, Valka had been around dragon's long enough to translate their meaning. She looked down at her son who had turned his head so that his watchful gaze was on his dragon as he approached the giant creature. Valka lifted her arm and stepped back so that she was just behind Hiccup and gave him a push with her staff, causing Hiccup to stumble forward.

"Ok, what is it with you two and shoving people towards danger?!" Hiccup exclaimed, as he looked over his shoulder to give a half-hearted glare.

Valka smiled at him, "I see no danger, son." she calmly told him.

Hiccup stared at her as if she had just turned into a Zippleback. He opened his mouth to retort, but a cry from Toothless made him stop. He turned his focus to his dragon, surprise written on his face. Toothless looked his friend in the eye before motioning to the giant before them, who had been standing quietly and watching the two with interest.

Hiccup's face went from surprise to utter bafflement. He and his dragon didn't ever say a word to each other, but they understood everything the other said.

A slight nod of the head. ' _I think it's safe._ '

A finger point. 'That _is safe?!_ '

A tail flick. _'Just move already!_ '

Valka and Cloudjumper watch the exchange with growing merriment. To them, it was as if looking into a mirror. Valka fondly stroked her friend's head, and was rewarded with a content purr.

"He's not like her?" Hiccup said aloud suddenly.

Valka started at the sound, and realized that while she was petting Cloudjumper the pair in front of her had still been 'talking'.

" _Her_? Who's _her_ Hiccup?" Valka asked.

Hiccup didn't answer, for ahead of them the king had widened his formerly slit eyes and had let out a distressed rumble from his throat. Both the Night Fury and teen had looked up at him in surprise, along with almost every other dragon in the cavern.

"Mother...?" Hiccup called, the unasked question hanging in the air.

"I don't know." Valka said coming forward and placing a hand on her son's shoulder. "It must be when you mentioned that _her_." Valka reasoned, gazing into her son's green eyes. Something her son had seen, and his dragon too. Is that why they left Berk? Because of whatever this is? _Something bad enough for the king to worry about?_

"He must know who you are talking about, son. But who _are_ you talking about?"

Hiccup looked her dead in the eye, his expression radiating sadness and fear.

"The Dragon Queen."


	7. Warmed & Fed

**BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! I'm starting a new story soon about World of Warcraft! The story will be posted soon, but the thing I'm going to say is that it takes place during the** _ **Wrath of the Lich King**_ **. Anyway, I know this chapter isn't a lot, but I wanted to do a bit of fluff and end this part of the time line before I start the smaller parts. I think Hiccup will return to Berk when he is twenty, so that gives us four years worth of a happy dragon-filled life! Let's begin with the ending of this section on Hiccup's life.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 _Chapter 7_

* * *

Hiccup heaved a content sigh as the warmth from the brightly lit fire pit washed over him. The young boy leaned back and met a smooth solid surface of scales. Cloudjumper was laid down behind the teen, his strikingly perspective eyes watching every movement the tired child had made. Hiccup might have been creeped out or annoyed by the surveillance, but considering everything that had happened the past evening, he really couldn't blame the Stormcutter for being protective.

Hiccup frowned a bit as thought of the conversation he had had with his mother after he had told her about the Queen. Valka had been very... _concerned_ to say the least when he told her about how Toothless had led them to the dragon's nest, and how they had nearly been eaten alive by it. She had nearly cut off his air supply after that. _Why do people insist that hugging is great? Am I the only one who has nearly died from being hugged?!_ Hiccup wondered furiously.

His mother had taken him and Toothless inside after that, stating that the two needed to rest. Hiccup couldn't really argue, as he was practically dragging himself along when they reached the cave-home.

It was very pretty to say the least. Some of the front walls had ice covering them, effectively curtailing the cave from the sunlight. There were also small openings in the ice that served as windows, and the giant one that they used as a door. Apparently the dragons could come in and out whenever they pleased, a thing Hiccup found enjoyable. There was some vegetation inside as well, but not much with the light now being able to reach it.

His mother was cooking something on some kind of stone counter (the way Toothless kept eyeing it probably meant it was fish). She was humming something, and sometimes she sung a few quiet words. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard her sing something like, "...swim and sail on savage seas, without…". He would have asked but his mother's voice was kind of nice to hear. It actually made his his eyes feel a bit heavy…

"Hiccup?" Hiccup snapped his eyes opened at the sound. He looked around the room for a minute and realized he had fallen asleep. Three pairs of eyes were looking down on him through the fire light, two green and one orange.

"Tired aren't you?" His mother laughed handing him a piece of cooked fish skewered on a stick. Hiccup gave her a sheepish laugh and he scratched the back of his head as he took the food from her. He took a bite a sputtered a 'thank you'. The fish was very well done, and it still had the right amount of grease to give it a delectable taste. Valka ruffled his hair before standing up and opening two large baskets of fish for the dragons, which Toothless practically nose dived into.

Valka came back and sat down beside him with her own fish-on-stick meal. The two sat in companionable silence as they ate. When they were done they continued to sit in silence, listening to the crackling of the fire.

After the dragons had finished eating and the fire and burned down to nearly just glowing embers, Valka felt a weight settle on her shoulder. She turned her head a smiled softly at the sight that greeted her. Hiccup had fallen asleep again, and his head was resting in her shoulder. She gently lifted her arms and placed it around Hiccup's small shoulders. _My son…_ She thought fondly. Hiccup subconsciously leaned into her touch, a soft smile spreading across his features.

 _I won't let anyone hurt you, my dear._


	8. Free & Separated

**I just want to thank those who gave my late son their condolences and especially** _ **Transformer0**_ **for his heartwarming comment. I pray so too my brother. My son's name was Saddie and I had him for not even two weeks. I want to dedicate two of the characters in my upcoming story, so I want to name them both one of the following.**

 **Sadlen**

 **Sadencha**

 **I also want to note that I'm sorry for not updating, but my son passed and I had midterms for both Monday and Tuesday. I hope whenever this does get out it will be good. Also, I want to think of ways that I could improve the flow of my work and improve characterization. Please given me feedback and I look forward to reading your replies.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 _Chapter 8_

* * *

 _The wind in my hair, the sun on my skin, and flying aboard the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself… Yeah, this is the life._

Hiccup smiled wide as he and Toothless flew in the middle of the masses of dragons over the ocean next to the island. Hiccup looked around, marveling at each of the large reptiles as dragon after dragon soared around them. He may have been living with his mother for a month now, but these things still took his breath away. Hiccup closed his eyes and inhaled deeply from the fresh sea air. It smelled mostly like ice and ocean due to the large amounts of ice and ocean, but the dragons added their two _scents_ too!

Suddenly, a large splash came from below them, followed by a thundering dragon call that seemingly ringed straight down into their cores. Silver fish then shot up into the sky and rained down on the pack of dragons like a snowfall. Toothless pelted forward and nearly threw Hiccup from the saddle with the sudden movement. The dragon caught as many fish as he could fit in his mouth before flying up above the rest of the pack. The pair stopped and watched as the others repeated what Toothless had done, catching fish after fish and stuffing their faces with them.

A familiar sound of double wing beats captured Hiccup's attention. Flying beside him now was Cloudjumper and resting on his back was his mother, her staff in hand and she was dressed in her unpainted wood armor.

"Be careful, dear! You don't want another fish in your face!" his mother laughed over the shrieking winds.

"Oh! _Sooo_ Toothless isn't to blame AT ALL for that little incident?" Hiccup replied sarcastically as he recalled the memory. Once during feeding time Toothless had been catching fish as usual but Hiccup had been spacing out for the most part. Thinking about new project ideas and designs amongst other things. Toothless had decided to take advantage of his distraction and move him right into the path of a falling fish. What followed is pretty self-explanatory.

Valka said nothing, but laughed her big booming laugh. Hiccup hung his head as the two family dragons snickered.

* * *

"Hey Mom?" Hiccup called from outside of the entrance to their home.

"Yes, dear?" His mother's carefree voice traveled back to him from somewhere in the back of the cave. _Probably making a snack or something,_ Hiccup mused, _Good, she might actually let us go alone this time..._

"Can me and Toothless go flying outside?" He asked, trying to sound as carefree as his mother did. If there was one thing he learned about his mother it was that she _hates_ when people beg.

"Oh! Well, I'm not sure if-" she was cut off by a loud but gentle warble also coming from the cave. _Cloudjumper_ , Hiccup realized. "Oh! Alright, if you think it's ok." Hiccup heard her say to her dragon. He turned to Toothless and gave him a wordless " _yes!_ ".

"You can go Hiccup, but if you're not back by the evening I'll have to skin ya alive!" Valka threatened, although Hiccup knew enough to understand when his mother was kidding. Seriously, it was hard to tell sometimes.

"Promise! See ya guys!" Hiccup shouted as he leaped onto Toothless's back and hooked himself into the saddle. Once he heard the satisfying sound of clicking metal, he pushed his feet into the stirrups.

"Let's go bud." Hiccup said to the dragon, leaning over the saddle and gripping the saddle horn firmly with his hands. Toothless let out a cry before spreading his wings and shooting up into the air, the sheer amount of power he put behind his take off lifting some of the dirt and pebbles from the ground.

The two flew to the far side of the sanctuary before disappearing through one of the passages that led to the outside, Toothless's hide blending them into the shadows as if they had swallowed the pair whole.

. . . . . .

" _Yeah baby_!" Hiccup yelled in delight as he and Toothless spun upwards into the clouds. The Night Fury roared alongside his friend before speeding off quicker than light towards some of the free floating glaciers nearby. True to his word, Hiccup had kept close to the island as to make it back before sundown. They were about twenty miles from home, and at full speed they could make it back before five minutes had passed. Toothless _is_ the fastest dragon he and his mother know about after all.

The dragon and dragon rider soared across the skies gleefully. Their only intention was to have a bit of mindless fun. They flew aimlessly around glaciers and did a number of twirls and flips through the bright white clouds. Their flight pattern almost reminded Hiccup of a fly buzzing around.

Finally, after flying for hours on end, the teen and his dragon noticed the sun had started to set.

"Well bud, looks like it's time ta-" Hiccup started, but he was interrupted by Toothless of all people. The dragon was looking back at him over his shoulder, his piercing green eyes narrowed at him in alarm as he motioned over and over at a glacier with his head. Hiccup turned his focus on the dark waves as they splashed around the edge of the floating ice block. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first, but when Toothless started flying forward the glacier, Hiccup's blood went cold.

A boat.

A _Viking_ boat.

His first thought was that it was a Berkian ship, but there was no familiar Hooligan crest on the sail, so he ruled that possibility out. But it was definitely a Viking ship, he could see the crew members scurrying about the oak wood boat. Hiccup didn't think things could get any worse until he saw the odd looking cannons on the deck that vaguely resembled his 'Mangler' which he had used to shoot down Toothless.

The young dragon rider was at a loss for what to do, his fear having dominated his mind when one word managed to make it through the haze. _Mom. I need to get Mom!_ Hiccup thought desperately. He slammed his foot down on the pedal and turned Toothless around as fast as he could. But before they could fly away to safety, a loud shout echoed from below them.

" _Dragon!_ "

"Someone man the bolas!"

"Bring that beast down!"

Before the two could react a barrage of bolas came flying at them. They managed to dodge most of the spinning ropes, but one of them managed to pin one of Toothless's wings to his side. The pair went plummeting down to the sea.

Hiccup and Toothless slammed into the freezing water, the sheer amount of cold turning his body into ice. It took a moment but Hiccup eventually realized he was no longer strapped into the saddle. The thick ropes had torn the thin straps of leather apart and the impact with the ocean had forced Hiccup off of his dragon's back. Hiccup searched frantically through the blackness until he saw a shadowed outline swimming up towards him a few meters away. He instinctively reached out, but before he could even touch his dragon he felt something else snag sharply to the back of his green tunic and yank him up. The last glimpse he caught of his dragon was him screaming his head off under water, his eyes wide with unhidden terror.

A second later Hiccup was pulled harshly to the surface with water leaking into his eyes making them sting, and he instantly took a giant gulp of fresh air to relieve his aching lungs. The next thing he knew he was being hauled up by many large hands and he vaguely felt himself land on his back onto the wooden deck. He began coughing up water he didn't even remember swallowing as he turned to his side. Rough voices filled his ears as his new captors started talking.

"Was he just on a _dragon_?!"

"No you idiot! The thing must have snatched the little fishbone from his village." ( _Seriously?!)_

"But sir, what if he was riding that beast? Could he be working for that ice dragon?"

"Aw good grief, I hadn't even thought of that…"

As the men were talking Hiccup could feel his fear rising as time went on. His eyes were closed, but he could still hear, but it wasn't what he heard that was scaring him, it was what he _wasn't_ hearing. Toothless. He couldn't hear his beloved dragon splashing to the surface. How much longer could he go without air? What if he couldn't come up to get air because of that bola?!

He couldn't take it any longer. He sprang up and bolted to the side of the boat, hearing surprised exclamations coming from the Vikings. " _Toothless!_ " He called as he searched for any sign of the elusive Night Fury. He leaned over the edge for only a second before a hand grabbed him from behind and jerked him backwards towards the other dragons.

"Well, that kinda settles that little debate. He wouldn't have reacted like that if he wasn't with those monsters." Said the burly Viking that had caught him.

"What do we do with him? Kill him?" Another behind him asked.

"No, let's bring 'im back to the base for now. Maybe we can learn where the nest is." Another said.

Hiccup's heart sank as he listened. His dragon for all he knew was drowning or drowned, and his mother had no idea where he was if she came looking for him. And if his mother did find him she'd have to fight almost a dozen dragon-hating Vikings who will probably beat her to the ground.

Hiccup hung his head in despair.

 _I'm sorry guys… I let you down..._


	9. Learned & Saught

**Hi again everyone! I'm back! With announcements!**

 **First off, I'm going to announce that production of chapters will be slowed due to the fact that I am writing a book that I'm aiming to be about 21-22 chapters long. I also am working on my WoW story, and I'm looking forward to it a lot.**

 **I'm hoping I'm able to fit this all in as it might reach a point in time where maybe 5-day updates are acceptable. But this time it was not, as I have let myself also become obsessed with the upcoming Fallout 4 and Harvest Moon A New Beginning and all of that. I'm sorry! I'll take it more seriously from now on!**

 **Also, I'm sorry that it took so long this time, but that was because at the time I'm uploading this I had unloaded** _ **152 flipping hay bales from a dumpster and stack them into two stalls, AND IT TOOK ME AND MY FRIEND OVER 3 HOURS!**_ **We have no upper body strength, so yeah, we died. I also can't feel my left shoulder. I need a chiropractor.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 _Chapter 9_

… _._

Hiccup sat in the shadowed corner, shivering and pressing deeper into the wooden walls, searching for some kind of warmth but finding nothing. He tried to preserve all the body heat he somehow still had by curling in on himself, but all that provided was enough warmth to feel the tips of his fingers, which in the current situation was not of much help.

The Vikings, true to their word, had taken him to their base; a small island outpost about a five-hour flight's worth away from home.

 _Home…_ Hiccup thought in dismay. _Mom is probably freaking out that I'm not back. I'm sorry Mother…_

Hiccup hated just sitting and wallowing in his own self-pity. If there was anything he would have been trying to pick the lock on the cell door and try to sneak off the island somehow. But worry for Toothless has clouded his mind to the point where he saw no point. If anything had happened to Toothless, his first and greatest friend Hiccup had, he would never feel for anything again.

* * *

Valka was afraid.

When her son and dragon had failed to return by sundown she knew something was wrong. Hiccup had promised, and he never broke a promise, that much she had learned about her son. To Hiccup, words are everything.

She and Cloudjumper were flying across the ice fields were her son had gone. He may not like it but she always took note of which direction he and his Night Fury flew off in, in case of situations such as this one.

She had been forced to stop her searching all night, as she was unable to see anything in the darkness. And besides, her son rode a _Night_ Fury. How could she hope to find them at _night_? But now the morning had arrived, and her and her dragon were back to at it.

Valka was growing more fearful as time went on. She had found no sign of her child. It was as if he and his dragon had just simply disappeared. Vanished. Dissolved into nothingness. Departed int-

Cloudjumper's cry interrupted her worry. He was taking them down to an iceberg. Looking at the floating object closer she could see that it was oddly shaped on one side…. Valka gasped. It was melted by a huge burn mark.

A _very familiar_ kind of burn mark.

Toothless has been here.

Looking ahead she noticed more burn marks in more of the icebergs ahead. _A trail…?_ She wondered as she directed Cloudjumper to follow it, not knowing what laid in store.

* * *

Hiccup had no idea for how long he had been huddled in that corner, but he did know it was morning when the door to his cell was opened and the piercing glare of the sun leaked into the room. A Viking came and lifted him harshly to his feet by his arm, the man's grip squeezing the limb so tight that he cut off most of Hiccup's blood circulation. The Viking started pulling him towards the door, but the cold had numbed Hiccup's legs awhile ago and he couldn't do much more than stumble along.

The second he was dragged outside, the teen was forced to screw his eyes shut due to the intense morning light. Before he could collect himself in someway, shape, or form he was tossed into the stone dirt, his body flaring in pain from the impact.

" _Awww!_ Come on you little fishbone! That's the best you can muster?!" A harsh voice laughed, and more joined in, the sounds coming from all directions. _That stupid nickname again!_ Hiccup internally fumed before he braced himself for the the burning luminosity of the sun.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up, bracing himself on his elbows as he waited for his eyes to readjust. When they did he was faced with a lithe but burly Viking man that he knew had not been on the boat that had brought him here. He had a large fur vest that covered his torso, and had silky black hair tied back into a ponytail; and his face had this weird blue tattoo on it that made it difficult to tell if he had facial hair or not.

"Ah! Look who has graced us with his acknowledgement!" the man sneered, earning himself more irritating laughter. The man took in Hiccup's returning glare, before addressing him directly.

"I am Eret, son of Eret." he said, taking a slight bow. "And this is my territory, if you didn't already know. Which makes you, my friend, a trespasser." he pointed out. "But you know what's funny, I mean, other than your lack of _manly prowess_." Hiccup shook his head and made a disgusted noise at the man's jab, but other than that remained silent. Whether Eret heard him over the praise of the other Vikings or not, he carried on as if he hadn't done a thing.

"You see, my men said they found you out at sea. But _I_ know for a fact," he gestured to himself as if he was the greatest thing the world had ever seen. _Ego-maniac, I've been_ living _with that for the past month_ , Hiccup thought. Eret continued, "that any boat that's strong enough to survive these waters needs more than three men to navigate anywhere."

"My men have provided me an explanation, but I'm not so sure I can wrap my believe it's much more than a tall tale to be perfectly honest." He kneeled down in front of Hiccup ignoring the boy's angry stare as he gave a malicious smile. "You. On the back of a _bloody_ dragon."

Some of his men laughed again, but a few others, the ones that were on the boat Hiccup realized, looked at the newly named Eret with irked expressions.

"But it's true, sir! It was a dragon!" One shouted from behind his leader.

"Yeah! A big black one it was! We had to fire six shots before we brought him down!"

Utter silence followed the last outburst. Obviously the men had not given a description of the dragon Hiccup had been apparently riding seeing as Eret looked _very_ interested in that little piece of information. Eret looked at the one who had spoken carefully, as if sizing him up, before turning that same face towards Hiccup. His eyes ran over him, judging it seemed, before staring him right in the eyes and breaking into the another creepy smile.

"Well then, little fishbone." The Viking started, his voice lowered. _Guy likes to be dramatic. Great! Another Snotlout to deal with. I also can't believe I didn't state that in the last_ five minutes _he's been performing for the other idiots here,_ Hiccup mentally complained, although he kept his external expression locked in a stone cold glare as he continued to talk. "From what my men say, it sounds like you were riding quite the dragon. _Quite_ the dragon indeed." He stood and began pacing in front of his men. He unsheathed a sword from behind his back a was swinging it around in a loose grip that reminded him a bit of how Astrid had tried to intimidate him that day on Raven's Point.

Eret stopped a few feet away, his posture relaxed, and his sword arm extended in a gesture of proceedings aimed at Hiccup. "And you know what? A dragon _that_ extraordinary, just might have some kind of fame to it, so that dragon trappers, like us for example," He paused and motioned to the gathered Vikings around them. At that statement, Hiccup's eyes widened and he scrambled to his knees as Eret kept on going with his little speech. "might have heard of it. And it just so happens that I _have_ heard of a _quick_ and _black_ dragon." He put emphasis on his words as he retold what his men had said, and Hiccup couldn't help the little bit of grief that hit his heart as he thought of his beloved dragon, who for all he knew was dead at the bottom of the sea.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that that sounded _exactly_ like a Night-" Eret never finished as the roar of a furious dragon exploded behind them.


	10. Lived & Doubted

**Thank you everyone for your sympathy once again. And also to the comment left by Sage, if you can't think of anything to say, a prayer, a smile, and emotional support is more than enough; thank you for letting me know you care.**

 **But I also want to announce something that I hope will bring up your spirits as it did mine. I am currently planning a book that I will publish in around a year or so, and I also will be attempting to publish a short story on Kindle soon. Once everything is set then I will tell you things such as titles and other things, but until then, know that I'm hard at work with this book!**

 **One quick note, if you ever see this -** … **It means that the POV is changing.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 _Chapter 10_

* * *

Valka flew forward to inspect another burn mark, taking note of the fact that they were becoming less frequent. Her worry for both her child and his dragon was shaking her to her core. From the angle at which the soot had stained the ice and snow, it appeared that Toothless had swimming every time had fired a shot. That was bad. That meant that Hiccup wasn't with him, or they'd be flying or waiting for help on an iceberg like she had told them to do if they were ever in trouble out here. Plus, Valka still had no idea what the max stamina of a Night Fury was, and the amount of effort it must have been taking to go on for so long like this...

"Oh my poor boys, where are you?"

* * *

Hiccup nearly collapsed from shock.

A moment ago the teen had been trying to think of a convincing lie to throw the dragon trappers off their high horse, and the next he found himself staring into Toothless's angry glare.

Toothless was standing on the shore a few yards behind the crowd of Vikings, growling menacingly. His eyes were narrowed, his pupils slitted in rage. Hiccup also noticed that his dragon was soaking wet, making his pitch black scales shine in the sunlight. _Did him swim after the boat?! Oh Toothless…_ Hiccup fretted.

Toothless was glaring at the trappers, but mainly Eret as the man crouched in front of his rider. He let loose another roar of fury before he charged.

Eret's expression turned from awe to horror in an instant as the Night Fury ran at him. He flung himself aside and started scooting backwards across the stone ground, trying to escape the wrath of the black dragon as he came at him. Toothless's mouth was open, his teeth unsheathed and his pupils narrowed at the trapper. He closed the distance between them in seconds, his paws barely touching the rock as he rushed the now terrified man as he tried vainly to get away.

Toothless prang on the trapper, pinning him to the ground. He could smell the man's fear rolling off of him in waves, and he could feel the pounding of his heart underneath where his paws were pressed on his chest. Toothless didn't think for a moment, his only instinct to protect Hiccup. He screeched in the man's face and bits of his saliva flew onto Eret's skin.

When Toothless saw the man near his weakened rider he put two and two together, and threw himself in a furious and protective tantrum to protect his friend. He would hurt this man for what he had done to Hiccup (whatever that had been). For threatening them both, for trying to take his rider away from him! He reared up slightly onto his hind legs before he shoved himself down, his razor sharp claws grazing the trapper's shoulders, causing flecks of blood to fall from the shallow wound.

…...

The dragon reared up again, and Eret cowered beneath him, shutting his eyes and awaiting for the inevitable finishing blow. After all, that's all a dragon does, kill people. But after a few moments of waiting for his death, he still felt nothing. No hot breath in his face, no flesh cutting claws ripping him apart. Eret opened his eyes in confusion and glanced about, seeing that the beast was no longer towering over him. His muddled search ended when he looked over to where their prisoner was, and his felt mouth drop open. There, standing by the shivering teenager was the dragon, roaring fiercely at some of his men who had tried to approach the boy before. _That_ guardian, that _protector_... it couldn't be a dragon, dragons don't help anyone but themselves.

 _Right?_

…...

Toothless kept giving him quick but concerned looks as he shrieked and cried out warnings to the trappers that surrounded them, all the while backing up closer to him.

Hiccup looked over to Toothless's tail and saddle, and his heart dropped to his stomach. While everything was intact, the cold waters had frozen Toothless's artificial tailfin to the base of his tail. It was covered in a thick layer of frost and ice, and it would take more strength than Hiccup had _normally_ to pull it apart.

Dread filled Hiccup, washing into his blood and sinking into his bones. Without Toothless's tailfin they couldn't fly. And if they couldn't fly they couldn't escape. And if they couldn't escape, the trappers would kill them both like meat boars.

Toothless suddenly barreled into him and knocked him to the ground. He landed on roughly on his side with a grunt, the small flare of pain confirming that there would be yet another bruise to go along with all the others he had gained from this _amazing_ experience. Looking up, he was about to send a snarky remark at his dragon, but froze when he heard the plasma blast go off.

Hiccup shielded his head with his arms and pressed himself back into the stone below him. He felt the extreme heat as it brushed his skin as it passed above him. The whirring of the blast ended instantly along with the sound of exploding wood and shrapnel.

Hiccup lowered his arms and turned his gaze into the direction of the odd sound. Scattered on the ground about five feet from where they were were the still-smoking splinters of what Hiccup guessed was a couple of spears.

Realization dawned on him and he once again looked up at his dragon as he stood over him, acting as a shield from the trapper's ongoing attacks. "Thanks, bud." Hiccup said gratefully from underneath the black dragon. Toothless looked down at him and warbled before focusing his attention back on the gathered men.

Looking back at the battle as well, Hiccup could already tell it was hopelessly one-sided. Toothless was more powerful than the men, there was no doubt about that, but the sheer number of trappers present could easily overwhelm the Night Fury if they managed to get close enough. The only reason they weren't already pushing their advantage was because they were still partially stuck in a state between fear and awe about the deemed offspring of death itself appearing and nearly killing their leader. Hiccup tried to look around for a means of escape, but he couldn't think of anything that wouldn't end them up dead. There was no way out, not without flying, and they couldn-

Two new roars of anger that he knew definitely hadn't come from Toothless tore him away from his whirling thoughts.

Everyone's attention was drawn up to the sky where the sounds had come from, and Hiccup nearly cried with relief when he saw a familiar X shape and a blue-painted figure standing on top of it.

His mother and Cloudjumper had found them at last.


	11. Burned & Smoked

**I am really sorry guys, I know I promised that new WoW story, and I still have every intention of doing it. It just that I can't say for sure when I'll be doing it as I want to focus on this story and on my books, so I think it's going to wait until this story is done. I am however over half way done, so I might upload the prologue and update it at random.**

 **I also have to tell you that updates are going to be a tad slower, as FALLOUT 4! Also I've been binge watching John Cena vines.**

…

 **I'M NOT WEIRD!**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 _Chapter 11_

* * *

Valka looked down at the small outpost before her, her rage rivaled only by the concern for her son. His dragon looked fine, with the exception of the layer of frost covering him head to tail, but dragon's internal heat would keep him safe from any resulting sickness. Meanwhile, Hiccup's form lay crumpled on the ground with Toothless standing over him, and the poor thing looked so pale in contrast to the grey stone he was lying on.

Valka did not waste a moment. She kneeled and placed one of her lean hands on Cloudjumper's horn, relaying a silent command;

 _Go_.

The Stormcutter obeyed immediately. He too it seemed, was just as enraged as she was at those who dared to harm their children. All in what felt like an instant, the dragon attacked. Cloudjumper folded his wings tightly to his sides and dove toward the outpost.

They flew in a near perfect circle, the wind whipping their faces and spitting fire as they went. They lit aflame everything in their path, creating a bonfire filled with screaming men.

Neither dragon nor rider even blinked at the destruction.

* * *

Hiccup gaped in shock. A minute again they had been surrounded by people who had personalities that were colder than ice, but the next they were running and screaming from a hungry fire that threatened to devour them all. A fire his mother and her dragon had sparked.

 _And I thought I had a temper._ Hiccup sassed internally.

When his mother had created an whole circle of death and destruction around them, she landed next to him and Toothless. Looking up at said Night Fury, Hiccup would have probably laughed if not for their current situation. The dragon looked dumbfounded, with a wide-eyed stare and his mouth hanging open slightly.

The sound of his mother's feet hitting the ground drew his attention back where Cloudjumper had landed. When he saw his mother, he felt an aching relief that actually made him tremble. He couldn't see her face through her blue-painted mask, but he could see the way she had visibly relaxed, and he faintly heard her solaced breath.

"Oh Hiccup." she said softly. The woman kneeled down in front of him and reached out.

Hiccup felt Toothless step off of him, relieved of his duty of protecting him being passed on to his mother. He went over to Cloudjumper, who placed a comforting wing over the frosted Night Fury.

Hiccup reached up with his own hand to meet her's, grasping her elbow as he looked to where her eyes were beneath her mask.

"Hey Mom." he smiled.

Even amidst the chaos around them, through the screaming and shouting and the smell of smoke and burning wood, Hiccup found that he felt strangely peaceful. As if, the raging inferno around them wasn't anything more than a fire back in their cave at home. After all, his mother didn't seem to bothered by any of it. She didn't flinch away from the rolling smoke and flying embers surrounding them, or the cries and wails. His mother was amazing to the point where he believed she could take on his father and win. Not something very many people could say these days.

" _Fire!_ "

Hiccup was torn out of his trance when a shout came from behind the walls of smoke. Four pairs of eyes snapped to attention a moment before a barrage of arrows came raining down in their direction.

Hiccup's eyes widened in fear and he shot backwards, but he retained his hold on his mother. The arrows landed a few feet in front of them, cutting into the stone with sickening _shink_. No one moved.

Hiccup breathed laboriously, gripping his mother's elbow so hard his knuckles turned white. _If they could've see us through the smoke-_ Hiccup was broken out of his dark reverie when his mother swiftly gathered him in her arms and plucked him up and off the cold, hard ground. He found himself pressed against her chest, his head high enough so that he could see over her shoulder.

"Woah! Hey-!" Hiccup protested, but before he could say much, another shout from beyond the smoke screen echoed in his ears. More arrows and this time spears and bolas were thrown at the group. There was clearly no aim, as nothing truly made contact, but they were getting unsettlingly closer to where the group had hunkered down. Hiccup wrapped his arms tightly around his mother's shoulders as she turned and ran the few steps that separated them from their dragons.

Cloudjumper lowered his head so far that he almost touched the ground with his chin. His mother leaped with a seemingly practiced ease and landed atop the dragon's shoulders, setting Hiccup down so that he was sitting upright with his mother supporting his torso.

"Go! Go NOW!"

Hiccup jumped at the sudden sound of his mother's voice as she addressed her Stormcutter, inwardly flinching at the tone her voice carried. He had never heard her sound so angry or afraid, and it served to make his already present fear turn into panic. Cloudjumper on the other hand, didn't seem remotely fazed by his rider's distress. He opened his four wings wide, but just before he took to the sky he reached with one of his feet grasped Toothless in his claws.

And then they were gone. Just like that, the instant Cloudjumper flew up, the surrounding screams and smoke and flames… It all just got left behind. The sounds faded away, as if they were nothing more than a meaningless nightmare.

But it wasn't. That had all actually happened. Those people were real. _Dragon trappers?_ Hiccup contemplated. _Why would anyone want to trap dragons? The same reason Berk did? For training? But they were_ trained _to capture dragons, not to kill them. So what were they-_

"Hiccup? Hiccup, dear? Can you hear me?"

Hiccup was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother's voice again. Looking up, he saw his mother staring down at him, her face filled with concern. She had removed her mask and set beside her, along with her staff.

"Hiccup?" Her eyes sparkled with worry, but she looked slightly relieved to see his focus was now on her. "Hiccup, darling, you need to calm down." she insisted.

Only after his mother had spoken did Hiccup realize how awful he felt. His breaths were quick but shallow, and he had a death grip on his mother's arms. He could feel exhaustion seeping into his bones, and there was still that harsh cold that hadn't stopped nipping at his flesh, even though he had been in a literal circle of fire.

"M-Mom, Mom, Mom…" he muttered continuously, releasing his mother and bringing his hands to his chest as he curled in on himself, feelings of numbness and incoherence flooding everything as he let all of the fear and pain he had been holding back for this entire ordeal free.

* * *

Valka wrapped her arms around her son and hugged him to her chest as he broke under his stress. She kept shushing him as he shivered, and she petted he frosty auburn hair. Her poor baby, he was pale and cold. His skin was ice to the touch, and he was shaking so badly that she wondered if it was just from the cold alone or something else…

"Cloudjumper, hurry! We need to get the boys home!" His response came in the form of a roar and more whiplash from the wind as her dragon speed up.

Valka breathed a sigh of relief before turning her attention back to the half-conscious child in her arms. He had stopped muttering, but she felt that she would have liked that better than his current state. His eyes were now only half open, staring at nothing in particular, and his body was lax like a dead weight. She caught the back of his head and pressed her forehead against his own, whispering words of comfort as they all (dragons included) impatiently waited for the journey home to end.

* * *

Hiccup was warm. He welcomed the feeling as it washed over his weary body; it was far more pleasant than the previous cold that made him feel like he was an actual icicle. His head felt better too, like it was actually all there. In fact, everything felt better.

Hiccup sensed some movement on his right, and he subconsciously leaned in the direction the sound came from as to identify the source without opening his eyes, since waking up was not something he felt like doing at the moment. It sounded like someone walking… and that someone kept scraping the ground with their feet...? _Wait a minute…_

Hiccup slowly but eagerly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of tired green eyes. And what do you know, the first thing he saw was an excited, wiggling Night Fury. Hiccup let relief fill him when he saw his dragon was unharmed. "Hey, Toothless." Hiccup greeted softly from his position under the blanket. Said dragon's face brightened with delight, and a toothless smile plastered itself on his face. He jumped happily about the room, letting out little blissful squeals as he hopped along. Hiccup propped himself up on his elbows and watched his dragon in unhidden amusement, which turned into unhindered happiness that rivaled his dragon's when he realized what room he was in, and what bed he was lying on.

Home. He was back home, in the cave he shared with his mother and the dragons. Hiccup sat up completely, relishing the view of the fire lit stone walls covered with bits of moss; the sloppily made but inviting looking furniture; the hand woven carpet and blanket his mother had made him…

Toothless bounced back over to Hiccup's bedside. He placed his front feet on the bed, stretching his neck over so that he was nearly nose-to-nose with his rider. Hiccup looked into his cat-like eyes and snickered before he reached forward himself and hugged his dragon tightly. He squeezed Toothless's neck, listening to his dragon's heart beat for a moment before letting go. The young dragon rider took his Night Fury's head in his hands and looked him in the eye once again. Both stared at one another with faces radiating pure joy and relief. Relief to be together, and joy at finally being home.

"Thank you bud, for protecting me." Hiccup said gratefully. "You are amazing." Toothless warbled quietly in reply, his gaze never leaving his friend's. That is until he opened his mouth and started licking the teen's face, completely covering the teen in wet, gooey saliva.

"Agh! Toothless! That's disgusting!" Hiccup complained loudly. But his dragon looked far from guilty as he gave a dragon's version of a laugh.

" _Hiccup_!"

Hiccup looked up from the blanket he had been wiping his face on at the sound of his name. He looked to the archway, which really was the closest thing to a door they had in the entire iceberg, and his felt his face almost break from the massive grin that he couldn't, and in fact wouldn't ever hold back.

"Mom!" Hiccup threw the blanket aside and sprang up from the bed, running into his mother's outstretched arms. She hugged him back so hard that he almost couldn't breathe, not that he really cared. After everything that had happened, with the trappers and that Eret guy- all he really wanted was to be with his mother.

And with his mother he would remain.

* * *

 **THE FLUFF! I wanted to do more, but I felt that it would be better if this was a one-shot, so I didn't. Anyway, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SYMPATHY. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! And thank you so much for reading, please R &R so I know I'm not wasting my life on something you guys don't enjoy, cause I do this so I can help somebody out there smile. **

**AND PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I NEED IMPROVEMENT ON! I WANNA BE GOOD AT WRITING! IT IS LITERALLY THE ONLY THING I AM CONSIDERING DO WITH MY LIFE!**

 **(I'm not needy. Totally not.)**


	12. Drawn & Struck

**You are not the only ones who hate me.**

 **I hate me too. I was so caught up in my book that the time just went away. And I really didn't want an entire month to be spent undone, I can't leave you guys hanging like that! Anyway, I unfortunately didn't write a lot for this one, but I'm going to continue it in the next chapter. I gotta admit, I really don't like how this chapter came out, but I can't stand another second leaving you in the dark.**

 **I do however think I will be doing a KH fanfic if anyone likes that, do keep your eyes peeled.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 _Chapter 13 Part 1_

* * *

 _Nice day._ Hiccup thought.

It was true, the sun was shining brightly from its place in the sky, its rays passing through the sparse white clouds and making the snow and ice seemingly shimmer with gold ore. The glaciers and the Sanctuary were standing tall as always, their oddly shaped structures adding a sense of beauty and elegance to the landscape that Hiccup found absolutely captivating.

Hiccup hummed as he drew the picture in his journal, which to note, was a complete opposite to the chaotic storm outside.

The boy felt a puff of hot air glide over his shoulder, a sharp contrast to the cold wind and occasional droplets of rain that surprisingly didn't land on his drawing. Turning his head slightly so that he was still sitting forward, he glanced behind him to see a familiar set of green eyes.

Toothless was gazing over Hiccup's shoulder at his drawing through narrow pupils and occasionally looking up at the actual thing in front of them. When the boy caught his eye, he gave him a look which was accompanied by a little noise that clearly stated, " _You did it wrong."_

Hiccup laughed lightly and said, "Never question the artist, bud. You never get a straight answer." He shook his head when his dragon snorted in his face and dramatically flopped down on the icy ground as he let a slight huff escape him.

The boy chuckled quietly and looked back out from beneath the small overhang they were sheltering under. The rain was pelting down so thickly that it looked like a curtain or a blanket and the clouds completely blotted out the sun; the sky itself seemed to be dyed a near endless black as it cast a shadow over itself.

A lighting strike suddenly flashed in the distance, causing Hiccup to jump a bit. The boy closed his leather journal with a snap and slid back to place both the book and his charcoal pencil in one of Toothless's saddle bags.

"Come on bud," Hiccup patted his dragon's black-scaled hide, "we better get inside before everyone flips out again." Thoughts of the past two weeks entered his mind. His mother and the dragons were practically following them everywhere he and Toothless went. Not the mention that he had been told strictly by his mother that if they so much as stuck a wing tip a mile out from the Sanctuary neither Hiccup nor Toothless would be able to so much _think_ about getting up from the ground.

Yeah, he's been pretty cautious the last few weeks.

Toothless stood up, clearly possessing the same worries. Hiccup walked over to his dragon and swung himself onto the Night Fury's back. He clicked his feet into the stirrups and grabbed onto the saddle horn before crouching low in his seat.

"Let's go home bud."

Toothless warbled in reply and the pair soundlessly took off into the storm-ridden skies.

* * *

"Oooohhh boy…" Hiccup muttered as he guided his dragon through the air.

Never mind the pouring rain around them, that wasn't so hard to deal with when you were so close to home. No, mind the _lightning_. The lightning was okay at first, just appearing randomly in the distance every now and then, but after a little while it started to worry the two. Every time it struck it seemed to be advancing on them, and at one point Hiccup was so surprised that he almost fell off Toothless's back.

As of right now, the pair were pushing themselves to the extreme. Toothless was putting as much force as he could into his flying, and Hiccup was doing his best to guide them to the glacier's entrance.

 _Come on, come on..._ Hiccup thought desperately as he scanned with his eyes. Suddenly, a dark circle in the glacier's side appeared through the rain.

"There!" Hiccup pointed at it, and his dragon began to turn…

And then a stream of lightning hit them.

Both dragon and rider faulted before they started to drop out of the sky. The pair screamed as they fell, but Toothless somehow managed to open his wings and slow their descent. Hiccup looked back at the Night Fury's tail and his heart dropped. The lightning bolt had hit the artificial tailfin dead on; it had utterly decimated the metal connecting rod, leaving a twisted black material in its place, and had almost completely burned away the tanned leather. Hiccup turned his attention back to the front after giving up hope on any type of aerial recovery and focused instead on the Sanctuary entrance.

Hiccup and Toothless pulled and pushed against the wind and rain as they tried desperately to aim themselves at the hole. Lightning and thunder raged around their heads with some of the bolts nearly landing a second blow.

" _Come on, bud! We can do this!_ " Hiccup cried over roaring storm. Toothless screeched back before folding his wings and clamping them to his sides. He dove towards the entrance. Hiccup screwed his eyes shut and pressed himself down on his dragon's back. Not a second later (though it felt like hours), the sounds of the storm died down a little, and the winds and rain stopped showering down on them. Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and sat up straight.

And started laughing when he realized that they were inside.

Toothless gave his rider a look as he cackled like a madman on his back, then he sighed plopped down onto the ground.

"Aw, what's a matter bud?" Hiccup wheezed. "Am I annoying you with the soothing sounds of my majestic voice?"

Toothless turned and glared before standing back up and walking along the jagged passageway that led to the main cavern. Hiccup caught his breath and started to I clip himself from the saddle as they trudged along.

Hiccup was just removing the final clip when they emerged from the tunnel. Toothless stopped walking when they were out partly to let Hiccup slip off his back, but the other was the giant blue eye staring at their faces.

"Oh, hehe… Hello, your majesty!" Hiccup said timidly. "Hey, so… We got back on time!" The boy pointed out.

The white Bewilderbeast groaned loudly before puffing a breath of ice at the pair, blanketing them from view. The cloud cleared a few seconds later however, revealing a pair of icicles.

Hiccup blatantly took notice of the fact that they were frozen solid. The King had seen the rain on them and frozen them into place. _Why did he-?_

" _HICCUP_!"

"I'M SO DEAD!"

* * *

 **To be continued…**

 **Also, the murderer-to-be is Valka**


End file.
